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03rd graders estimated to fail reading at San Diego Unified this year

Based on 2025 grade 3 CAASPP reading results with 52.9% proficiency against 7,194 tested students

If we could match Birmingham, Alabama's improvements, 2,014 more students would have a brighter future.

Birmingham City Schools raised third-grade ELA proficiency from 53% to 81%, a 28-point gain in a single year.

““In 2023 just 53% of Birmingham's third-graders read at grade level. Now 81% do, putting the city far ahead of others like it.”
The EconomistThe Economist
““A Black Mississippi child is two and a half times as likely to be proficient in reading by fourth grade as a Black California child.”
The New York TimesThe New York Times
Methodology

The annual total is the latest direct grade 3 CAASPP reading tested count multiplied by the share of students not proficient. We do not infer district totals from schools when district-level grade 3 data is suppressed or unavailable.